INDIANAPOLIS — The Bulldogs streaky play was deemed not enough after falling in the BIG EAST conference opener against DePaul in three sets (16-25, 23-25,16-25). Alaleh Tolliver led the team with 10 kills while Cora Taylor tallied 30 assists.

DePaul 25-16
Back-to-back runs by the Blue Demons allowed the Bulldogs to fall behind 7-1 to begin the match. Blocks by Grace Boggess and a service ace by Lauren Evans helped cut the lead to three points at 15-12. DePaul would then take back control and never look back, ending the first set on a 6-0 spurt at 25-16.

DePaul 25-23
Jaeda Lockhart came into Set 2 on fire earning a kill and block to give Butler an early 5-0 lead. Kills and a serving ace from Alaleh Tolliver helped the Bulldogs maintain their lead at 12-7. DePaul would then come crawling back into the set using a 6-0 run to tie the match up at 17-17. Butler would fall behind, but a serving ace by Cora Taylor helped the Bulldogs tie the set at 23-23. The Blue Demons then took back the momentum scoring the next two points to take Set 2.

DePaul 25-16
Kills by Tolliver and Elise Ward helped tie the match at 2-2 before the Blue Demons would use 3-0 run to take a 6-3 lead. Butler fought back to tie the match after another kill by Lockhart and eventually take the lead at 

Stat of the Match: Grace Boggess extended her current streak of having at least one block in every match this season to 13 matches. Boggess led the team in the match against DePaul collecting three blocks to bring her season total up to 50 total blocks.

Inside the Box Score

• Taylor led the match with 30 assists while adding six digs and a pair of kills
• Tolliver earned a team-high 10 kills while adding seven digs
• Boggess hit for .385 with five kills with no hitting errors while adding three blocks
• Lockhart also recorded five kills with no errors while hitting for .455
• Evans added seven digs and a serving ace

Up Next
The Bulldogs will hit the road to Cincinnati to face Xavier tomorrow beginning at 4 PM.